Grilles formed of metal or other strong material are a well known device for inhibiting unauthorized entry of persons through openings in a building. Prior grille constructions are highly effective for this purpose but are also subject to several practical problems.
Prior grilles are usually designed for use with a door or window having specific dimensions and are not readily adaptable to openings of differing size. This makes it necessary to manufacture and stock such grilles in a large number of different sizes or to custom make grilles for each installation, either of which adds to the costs of such devices.
Prior grilles of fixed dimensions also require that fastening devices such as bolts or screws be located at specific positions that are dictated by the configuration of the grille. This can cause installation difficulties if there ar pre-existing obstructions, such as light switches, an adjoining window or the like, at those locations.
Efforts have heretofore been made to provide a grille which is expansible or contractable to accommodate to different sized windows or doors but the degree of adaptability tends to be limited and the constructions are complex and costly.
Under many circumstances, the grille should be fastened to the wall by latching mechanism which enables opening of the grille by persons inside the building. This is necessary for obvious reasons in the case of a door grille and is also desirable, for safety reasons, in the case of window grilles as windows may under some circumstances provide an alternative escape route in emergencies such as during a fire.
The latches of prior grilles tend to be complicated and costly and may be difficult to install. Release of such latches and opening of the grille typically require a series of manipulations whereas it would be advantageous if the operator could both unlatch and open the grille with a single motion of a control lever or the like. The latching components of prior grilles are also often undesirably accessible from the exterior of the building, by breaking of a window for example, and thus may tend to defeat the purpose of the grille.
Prior grille latches are also typically designed for use in a grille that is mounted inside the window or door which is to be protected. It would be advantageous if a single latching mechanism were compatible with both inside mounted grilles and grilles that are mounted on the outside of the building.
The present invention is directed to overcoming one or more of the problems discussed above.